Asylum seekers queue as March and March blocks access to Durban refugee centre March and March members shut down the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban, disrupting services as asylum seekers queued in the scorching heat to apply for protection. Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO March and March members shut down the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban on Tuesday, disrupting access to asylum services as undocumented migrants arrived to apply for
10/06/26 • 4 Просмотры
March and March members shut down the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban, disrupting services as asylum seekers queued in the scorching heat to apply for protection.
March and March members shut down the Home Affairs Refugee Reception Centre on Che Guevara Road in Durban on Tuesday, disrupting access to asylum services as undocumented migrants arrived to apply for refugee status.
The anti-illegal migrant group gathered outside the centre, where women clutching documents, mothers with children and men had been queuing in the scorching Durban heat in the hope of entering the asylum system.
At 29°C, the heat hung heavily over the pavement as scores of people waited for assistance, with women and children forming one long line stretching down the road while men waited on the opposite side of the centre.
The shutdown came as Home Affairs implements a directive instructing Refugee Reception Offices to receive people who report in person and indicate that they want to apply for asylum.
The directive follows a Constitutional Court judgment in July which confirmed that provisions of the Refugees Act creating barriers for people who entered SA irregularly or failed to apply within prescribed timeframes were unconstitutional and invalid.
Among those affected by the uncertainty surrounding the asylum process is 19-year-old Congolese woman Julienne, who arrived in SA in 2025 after fleeing a country where war continues to threaten lives.
She said she had hoped to find safety in SA but instead encountered xenophobia and struggled to secure work without documentation.
“I'm here because I don't have papers. I'm Congolese. I came to SA in 2025. I experienced a lot of xenophobia. They chased us away from work and told us that we should go home,” Julienne told IOL.
Her words capture the difficult reality facing people who arrive in SA seeking protection, only to find themselves navigating hostility, uncertainty and a lengthy asylum process.
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